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Breathing into the “I don’t know”

In my work as a counselor and as a leader, I’m so often reminded of how uncomfortable human beings are with the reality of “I don’t know.” I often say, “if I could just tell you the exact date of when you will get that job, or meet that person, or start to improve/grow; would it make a difference to how you feel right now?” Inevitably the answer is an emphatic, “YES!” It’s the uncertainty that tends to make us feel so afraid.

Recently this concept was taken to an even further degree of understanding. What would it be like if in any given moment I could pause, relax and breathe into the “not knowing?” How would that impact my planning? My sense of urgency? My communication? My drive to understand and to know? My capacity for openness and creativity? Would it be possible to have a greater sense of simply allowing things to unfold rather than a constant push to drive toward outcomes – even outcomes that I may deem as good for my health. Wow!

For those of you who are wired up like me with a natural tendency to plan, organize, push, create, design, complete, activate and “make it happen,” this may have felt as scary to you as it did to me. And yet now I begin to see that being in the “I don’t know” is really just being in the moment – and isn’t that what all the practices are about? The present moment space that exists within the body – the moment that contains so much power, so much ease. A space that is beyond the mind. To that I say YES!

So what holds me back? I’m discovering that part of it is my attachment to being an achiever, planner type; I didn’t have room for those opposites – those parts of me that are playful, spontaneous, flexible, at ease. What an invitation to invite integration into my being! I’d love to hear about what you are integrating on this journey to living into your True Self!